T’ruah historically celebrates Tu BiShvat by taking rabbinical and cantorial students studying in Israel to plant two trees – one in Israel and one in the West Bank. Due to October 7 and the ongoing settler violence that has since erupted in the West Bank, we’ve had to temporarily pause this program.
There is a midrash on Genesis 2:9 that teaches that the “tree of life” is connected to all living things, and that its journey extended over 500 years, symbolizing how trees are intertwined with the land and its history.
If the trees of Israel and Palestine could speak, what stories would they tell? As we celebrate this life-changing holiday during this painful and challenging time, T’ruah is focusing on planting those seeds — the seeds that will lead to a future of accountability, healing, unity, and justice for everyone who calls this land home.
Your donation reflects a commitment to a vision of humanity in which all people live in peace and collaborate to use our planet’s resources wisely in order to bring about justice in our shared world.
With these seeds, we are cultivating hope.
Over the last decade, T’ruah’s Israel Fellows — North American rabbinical and cantorial students studying in Israel for a year — have marked the holiday of Tu BiShvat by planting trees in two locations: in Israel and in a threatened Palestinian community in the West Bank (South Hebron Hills).
These visits have also been an opportunity to witness the occupation firsthand, so that our future rabbis are better equipped to use their moral voices to end the occupation.